Karma Dog

Yesterday I saw a scraggly little mutt wandering along a busy road. He was obviously lost and far from home, so I pulled over and coaxed him into the car with my McDonald's Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap. He had tags on his collar but I don't have a cell phone, so I found some guy mowing his lawn and used his cell phone. The dog license official was able to give me the dog owner's name and address.

When I returned the little mutt to his home, the old lady who answered the door said, "Oh, that little shit. Yeah, he's ours," and she shut the door. No happy reunion, no thank you, no offer to let the dog inside, nothing. I rooted around on the porch and found a chain, which I used to anchor the little guy to his home. I even gave him my second McDonald's Crispy Chicken Snack Wrap because I felt bad for him. I wondered if maybe I should offer to take him home with me.

My dogs ran away last Thursday. The following Friday, we got a call from the vet saying that someone had found Free wandering along a very busy road, injured. The kind soul put him in her car and took him to the vet, where he was scanned for his identifying microchip and we were notified. I am so eternally grateful to that kind, anonymous person who cared for my dog, who wasn't afraid of his scary bulk or his serious look, who helped him get back home.

Our second dog, Blue, has yet to be found. She has been gone for 6 days. I woke up this morning crying, missing her warm, sleek little body beside me in the bed. It is our game in the mornings - she waits until she hears Chad start the shower, then she tip-toes past the bathroom door and hops up in the bed with me, where Chad never allow her to be.

Free has been very meticulously burying scraps of food and bones and treats on different parts of the property. When he finds something worth burying, he begins jogging with his eyes trained on the spot where he will dig, clearly on a mission. Chad says that he is burying these treats for Blue, which makes my heart break a little. Animals are funny like that though. My Mom had a beloved horse who died and they buried him on her property. When she was walking past the spot months later with her dog Jack, he laid down on the spot and howled and refused to get up. He knew by some sixth sense that his dead friend Booker T. was buried under that unmarked piece of ground.

My hope for Blue's return dwindles with each passing day, and it kills me to know that I may never discover what happened to her. When I drive down the road that Free was found on, I think to myself, "Blue could be laying injured five feet off the edge of this very road, and I can't find her to help her." This is incredibly rough for me.

It is even more difficult to deal with because I am forced to face my irresponsibility as a pet owner. Blue is not spayed. Blue is not licensed. Blue has no identifying tags on her collar. Blue has no microchip. If someone did find her, I can only hope they would call the Humane Society (who are probably tired of hearing from me at this point) or happen to see one of the gazillion posters I have posted at various gas stations and stores.

Maybe somehow karma will reward me with Blue's return for returning that scraggly little mutt to this home yesterday.